In the carpet laying industry there has been a long felt need for an effective apparatus capable of easing the bodily stress of handling large, heavy rolls of carpeting at the job site. Generally, at such a job site, the carpet to be installed is brought in trucks in the form of long, single rolls of material which often weigh from 800 to 1500 lbs. For some relatively, large carpet laying jobs, motorized equipment such as standard fork lift trucks can be justified for handling the heavy rolls. However, for many smaller carpet laying jobs only one or two men with no motorized equipment are available at the job site and the required movement, lifting and handling of the large carpet rolls heretofore presented a serious problem, often resulting in severe fatigue and even injury to the carpet layers.
A general object of the present invention is to solve the aforesaid problem by providing an apparatus that facilitates the lifting and moving of heavy rolls of material without the assistance of motorized equipment.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus operable by no more than two persons for lifting and moving heavy, elongated rolls of material in a relatively rapid manner without undue physical strain.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be maintained in a compact knockdown condition and then be quickly assembled for use with a minimum of time and without the need for special tools.
Another more specific object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for handling large, heavy rolls of carpet material wherein each roll is mounted on an elongated beam member through its axial center, and portions of the beam member which extend beyond the ends of the carpet roll are engaged by manually operated lifting devices that enable the roll to be raised from ground level.
A further object of the invention is to provide a handling apparatus for carpet rolls utilizing fulcrumed lifting devices with adjustable lever arms for altering the mechanical advantage to suit different handling situations.
A further object of the invention is to provide a handling apparatus for carpet rolls which includes a cradle assembly for supporting a carpet roll after it has been lifted so that it can be moved axially by a minimal manual effort.